Gryffindors Aren't So Bad
by jrhcomet
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia, Ravenclaw, encounters nothing but mischief from Natsu Dragneel, Gryffindor. He sneaks out past curfew and, as prefect, she has no choice but to investigate. Will it be what she expects? I do not own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail. I'm just obsessed with both. Enjoy!


_Dear Miss Heartfilia,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed, you will find a list of the items required for school._

_Term begins on the first of September. We expect your response owl by no later than the thirty-first of July._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Louisa Smythe_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Lucy stared at her letter. It had come in her mailbox exactly 5 years ago. Now, she was going into her sixth year at Hogwarts and she couldn't be happier. Her father had been so confused and angry at the knowledge of his daughter being a witch, he had disowned her and sent her away. She had moved in with her cousin, Michelle Lobster, and life had never been better.

She had received another letter this morning by owl, saying that she had been made a prefect, replacing a student who had graduated last year. She was beyond nervous, but she knew her Ravenclaw friends would help her out. Besides, since when did Ravenclaws get into trouble?

"Lucy! Lunch is ready!"

Lucy turned to her bedroom door. "Okay! Be down in a minute!"

She looked back at the letter in her hand and grinned. Only two more months and she would be back at school. She couldn't wait.

Apparently, time hated her. The two months had crawled by with nothing to do. No summer homework, no new spells to learn, no new tricks to try. Lucy had been beyond bored. Luckily, time had passed and Lucy was now standing on Platform 9 3/4, waiting for the Hogwarts Express to pull into the station. Normally, she waited with her friend, Levy McGarden, another Ravenclaw who lived just down the street from Lucy and Michelle. However, today, Levy had decided to sit with her Slytherin boyfriend, Gajeel Redfox.

Lucy sighed and looked up and down the platform. She saw friends reuniting and parents bidding their children teary farewells. The scenes made her slightly bitter about her father tossing her out the way he had, but she quickly pushed those feelings aside.

Before too long, Lucy heard the train horn and the red locomotive came steaming into the station. Feeling excitement course through her the way it always did, Lucy grabbed the handle of her luggage cart and began pushing it over to where they always loaded the train.

As she was walking, someone rushed by her, bumping her shoulder and jolting her cart. Lucy regained control and looked up to see a boy about her age running down the platform. He looked over his shoulder and gave her an apologetic wave before looking forward again, his spiked pink hair blowing back with the wind.

Lucy scoffed. She had seen his red robes and knew him to be a Gryffindor. They were always causing trouble. They seemed to want nothing more than to break the rules. She would have to keep her eye on them now that she was a prefect.

Lucy left her cart in the loading area, only grabbing the bag that contained her school robes and the cage that held her snowy owl, Plue. She quickly boarded the train, not wanting to risk the possibility of being left behind. She walked down the car she had climbed into, looking into each of the compartments until she found an empty one. She put her bag on the luggage rack and set Plue down on the seat beside her. Then, she pulled out a book and began to read, waiting for the train to take her home.

About ten minutes later, the door to her compartment opened. She pulled herself out of her book and looked to see who had entered. It was that Gryffindor boy again, though he was accompanied by three others this time.

"Hi," he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Hello."

"Um, would it be alright if we joined you? All of the other compartments are full."

Lucy blinked. This had never happened to her before. Usually, she was left alone when she was reading, though she supposed the train and the Ravenclaw Common Room provided for different atmospheres.

She was jarred from her thoughts when a tanned hand waved in front of her face.

"Hello? You in there?" The boy asked teasingly.

Lucy shook her head to clear it and looked at him again. "Oh. Yes, yes, that's fine."

She scooted closer to the window and moved Plue so he was on the floor between her legs.

The boy grinned. "Great! Thanks!"

He plopped into the seat across from her, followed by a boy with raven hair and an icy aura, a girl with scarlet red hair wearing what looked to be armor, and a younger girl with navy blue hair tied into pigtails. The pink haired boy looked at her and smiled again.

"I'm Natsu, by the way, Natsu Dragneel."

Lucy gave him a polite smile back. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia. Pleasure to meet you."

Natsu nodded and then pointed to each of his friends, introducing them as he went. "This is Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, and Wendy Marvel. Thanks again for letting us sit with you. We're in Gryffindor. Except for Wendy. She's in Hufflepuff."

Lucy nodded. "Sure. No problem."

She then opened her book again and continued where she had left off. Or at least, she tried to.

"So, what house are you in? I've never seen you before," Natsu asked, leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees.

Lucy looked up again. "I'm in Ravenclaw."

"Oh. That explains it. You Ravenclaws never do anything fun. No wonder I've never seen you."

Lucy scowled. "Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?"

Natsu shrugged. "I never see you guys at the parties and stuff."

Lucy huffed. "Perhaps that is because all of the parties are thrown by you Gryffindors, so we know everyone will end up getting detention anyway."

Natsu squawked in indignation. "Hey! That only happened once!"

"Once is quite enough for us to know that those parties are nothing but trouble. Besides, I am trying to pass my classes and studying is a key part of that. I don't have time for parties." Lucy returned her attention to her book.

"There's no way that's true. Erza studies all the time and she still comes to the parties."

Lucy signed in annoyance at being interrupted yet again. "I fail to see what that has to do with me not coming."

Natsu leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "All I'm saying is that you probably do have time. You should come to one."

Lucy stared at him for a few seconds. He was right in saying that she did indeed have time. But there was no way she was going to let him win.

"Has it ever occurred to you, Mr. Dragneel, that perhaps I simply don't want to go?"

Natsu's mouth dropped open. It seemed that he had not considered that.

"But...why not?"

Lucy only shrugged and returned to her book.

Natsu seemed to be able to tell this time that she didn't want to talk anymore and so turned to his friends and struck up conversation with them.

By the time the train pulled into the station at Hogwarts, Lucy had finished her book and changed into her school robes. She collected all of her things and stood up, ready to start her new year of learning. Before she could walk out of the compartment, however, she was stopped by Natsu grabbing her wrist.

"Wait. Look, I know you may not feel like you have time and you may not want to come, but you should stop by one of our parties sometime. You may be surprised."

Lucy looked at him, shocked. "Why do you want me to go so bad?"

Natsu let go of her and shrugged. "I dunno. You're interesting."

Lucy raised a brow at that and then sighed. "I'll think about it."

Natsu grinned and nodded. Then, he grabbed all of his things and walked out, leaving Lucy to wonder why she had said that.

The Sorting Ceremony and the welcome feast flew by faster than Lucy was ready for. Before she knew it, she was explaining the rules of Ravenclaw tower to the new first years.

"Finally, there will be no, and I mean no, Zonko's products. The last time some genius decided to bring some into the tower, Professor Justine blew a gasket. I will not relive that. Are we clear?" Lucy explained sternly.

The first years all nodded, looking terrified out of their minds.

Lucy smiled sweetly at them. "That said, please don't hesitate to ask one of us older students for help on your studies should you need it. We don't mind at all."

After guiding them to their rooms, Lucy returned to the Common Room and sat down on the couch, letting out a sigh of content.

"Hey Lu!"

Lucy opened her eyes and gave her best friend a bright smile. "Hey Lev!"

"How was the train ride without me?"

Lucy pouted. "I still can't believe you ditched me for Gajeel. You're so mean!"

Levy frowned. "Aw, I'm sorry, Lu. It's just, Gajeel was on vacation all summer and I barely got to talk to him at all."

Lucy pouted for a few more seconds before letting out an over exaggerated sigh of resignation. "Fine. But seriously, the train ride kind of sucked. I got stuck in a compartment with this kid who kept insisting that I go to one of the Gryffindor parties. And after he basically called Ravenclaws boring nobodies!"

Levy gasped. "What?! How dare he! Who was this kid?"

"He said his name was Natsu Dragneel."

Levy's mouth dropped open. "Natsu said that?"

Lucy furrowed her brow. "Wait, you know him?"

"Yeah, he's Gajeel's cousin," Levy affirmed.

Lucy hummed in acknowledgment. "I see. But still, we're not boring. We're just focused. Right?"

Levy nodded vigorously. "Of course! Who has time for parties when we have exams and homework to worry about?"

"Exactly!" Lucy said, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation.

Levy giggled.

At that moment, the clock tower tolled, telling the girls that it was eight o'clock. Lucy sighed and stood up from the couch.

"I have to go patrol the halls, make sure no one is out past curfew. I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"

Levy nodded, covering the yawn that escaped her mouth.

While Lucy wandered the halls, she couldn't help thinking back to the train ride. Why had it been so hard for Natsu to understand that she just didn't want to go to a party? Was it really that strange?

Lucy was brought out of her musings by the sounds of soft murmuring and footsteps. She frowned. She had made her way down to the lowest levels of the castle. Who on earth could be down here? Lucy sped up, hoping to catch the rule breakers quickly. When she turned the corner, she saw two people she had definitely not expected.

"Gray, you idiot. I told you the kitchens were the other way."

"No you didn't, fire-breath. You told me they were this way."

Lucy sighed. Of course it was Gryffindor. Deciding to make herself known, Lucy cleared her throat, enjoying the way the two boys tensed up and slowly turned to face her.

"What do you two think you're doing? It's past curfew," Lucy scolded, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning her weight onto one foot.

"Uh, we were just, uh...Natsu, you tell her," Gray stammered, pushing his friend forward.

"Yes Natsu. Tell me."

Natsu gulped harshly at her glare. "Well, we, uh, heard a noise. And we wanted to, um, investigate! You know, make sure nothing bad was happening."

Gray nodded behind him.

Lucy raised a brow. Did they really think she was that stupid.

"Really? You heard a noise down here from all the way up in Gryffindor tower? On the other side of the castle?"

Natsu paled. "Um, yes?"

Lucy scoffed. "Honestly, if you're going to lie to me, at least make it believable. And by the way, the kitchens are also on the other side of the castle. Get back to your rooms before I decide to give you detention. Or better yet, before I decide to tell Headmaster Makarov that you two were sneaking about."

Both boys lost all of the color in their faces and gave her a stiff salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

They took off towards the stairs, pushing and shoving each other as they went.

Lucy sighed and shook her head.

The next morning, while eating breakfast, Lucy told Levy what had happened the night before.

"Honestly, I don't know how they didn't get caught. They must have gone through the whole school!" Lucy complained.

Levy giggled. "Come on, Lu. I'm sure they've done it before. They probably didn't think that there would be anyone patrolling on the first night."

Lucy just shook her head and continued to eat.

Classes that whole week flew by, and Lucy had yet to catch the boys sneaking around again. But now it was the weekend and who knew what they could get up to.

That Saturday, Lucy took a trip to the Owlery, wanting to check on Plue. When she arrived, she immediately spotted her snowy owl. He stood out among the drab brown rafters. She whistled to him and grinned with delight when he hooted and flew down to rest on her shoulder.

"Hi, Plue. How are you doing?"

The owl hooted once more and bobbed his body up and down.

Lucy laughed. "Yeah, I missed it here, too. Have you gone on any adventures?"

Plue didn't seem to understand this question as he simply tilted his head at her, his strangely orange beak clacking.

Lucy hummed in agreement. "Me neither. But, it's only the first week. We have plenty of time, hmm?"

Lucy gave Plue a quick pet and a treat before letting him return to his roost. She bid him farewell and went to leave the tower. As she was about to go down the stairs, however, she was startled by a blue streak running through her legs and a shout. Her foot slipped on the top stair and she tumbled down the next ten steps.

When she came to a stop, she sat up, groaning at the pain in her back, but especially at the pain in her ankle. She must have twisted it. She reached for it and hissed as her fingers came into contact. She heard someone coming up the stairs and looked up to see who. She was slightly surprised to see Natsu appear from around the bend. His eyes widened upon seeing her and he slowed to a stop.

"Lucy! Have you seen a cat around here? He ran off and I can't seem to catch him."

Lucy raised a brow. "He wouldn't happen to be blue, would he?"

Natsu brightened and grinned at her. "Yeah, he is!"

Lucy shook her head in exasperation and pointed up the stairs. "I think he's in there."

Natsu dashed by her, throwing a thanks over his shoulder.

Lucy shook her head again and grabbed the railing of the stairs to pull herself to her feet. Now she would have to make it to Madame Porlyusica to see about her ankle. She hauled herself up and tested her ankle by putting some weight on it. She quickly decided not to do that again as she gasped in pain.

"Are you okay?" came a voice from the top of the stairs.

Lucy looked over her shoulder and saw Natsu standing there, a blue cat in his arms and a concerned look on his face.

"I'm fine. Just slipped down the stairs a bit when your cat ran by me."

"Just slipped? Lucy, I can see bruises on your arms."

Lucy winced and glanced at her arms, seeing darkening spots beginning to appear.

"Okay. Maybe I fell. From the top of the stairs. It's no big deal. I'll just have Madame Porlyusica take a look."

Lucy faced forward again and began down the stairs, taking care to lean on the railing instead of her injured leg. Unfortunately, Natsu had sharp eyes.

"What's wrong with your foot?"

"Nothing, Natsu. I'm fine. Go back to whatever you were doing."

"Come on, Lucy. Tell me what's wrong," Natsu pleaded, coming down to stand next to her on the step.

Lucy sighed and looked over to him. "If I tell you, will you leave me alone?"

Natsu shrugged. "Maybe."

Lucy contemplated for a moment and then decided to come clean. "Okay. I may have sprained my ankle falling down the stairs. But, again, I'm fine."

Natsu gave his cat a disgruntled look. "See what happens when you run off, Happy?"

"Happy? You named your cat Happy?"

Natsu looked back to Lucy. "Yeah, so?"

Lucy shook her head and focused her attention on going down the stairs again. "Nothing."

She heard Natsu scold his cat once more before hearing a soft thud. Before she could turn to investigate, Happy ran down the stairs past her.

"Seriously? You went to all of that trouble to catch him and now you're letting him run off again?"

Natsu caught up to her and shook his head. "No. He's going back to the Common Room. He knows he's in trouble."

Lucy gave him a disbelieving look and hopped down the next stair. She gasped in surprise when she felt a warm arm slide around her waist and a hand grab her arm to pull it over sturdy shoulders.

"Natsu, what are you doing?"

Natsu looked at her and smiled. "It's kind of my fault you're hurt. The least I can do is help you to the infirmary."

Lucy flushed and looked forward again. "Okay."

Together, they made it down the stairs with no problem. Now they had to trek across the courtyard and into the castle halls. Lucy took that time to think about her companion.

She had seen him in a few of her classes. She knew that he was brash and impatient, and yet he didn't complain once at the slow pace they were going. She also knew that, despite his dislike for rules, he took classes very seriously. Especially Care for Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts, a class she noted he was exceedingly talented in. He was fiercely devoted to his friends and wasn't afraid to start a brawl should anyone take issue with his housemates. He frequently spent time with his cousins as well. Lucy had come to learn that not only was he related to Gajeel, but Wendy as well. It had surprised her to learn that the shy, young Hufflepuff had any familial tie to the rowdy Gryffindor.

Natsu was doing his own thinking, something he didn't often devote time to. He couldn't help but notice Lucy whenever he was in the same room as her. She was reclusive, except when dealing with members of her own House and seemed to spend more time reading than anything else. She was nearly always the first to raise her hand in class and was very rarely wrong. Though, even when she was wrong, she was always the one to quickly correct herself. She excelled in Charms and Astronomy, though she was still very good at all of the other subjects. Natsu had no idea why he was so drawn to her, but he wanted to know more about her. Even though she talked to her housemates, she didn't seem to actually be close friends with any of them but Levy. He wanted to know why she was so closed off. He wouldn't be able to survive without his friends and couldn't understand how she did.

Both wizards were drawn from their thoughts when they reached the doors of the infirmary. Natsu pushed them open and guided Lucy to an empty cot, gently settling her down.

Lucy looked up at him when she was settled. "Thank you for your help."

Natsu scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, no problem. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if you hurt yourself worse on your way here."

Before Lucy could respond, a scowling pink haired woman in a flowing maroon cloak stomped over to them. They both gulped.

"What are you doing here? Hmm?" Madame Porlyusica caught sight of Natsu and her scowl deepened.

"Has he jinxed you, Miss Heartfilia? He has a tendency to do that."

Lucy let out a surprised giggle and shook her head. "No, ma'am. I fell down the Owlery stairs and got banged up. Sprained my ankle, I think. Natsu was helping me get here."

Natsu stared in shock as Madame Porlyusica's scowled faded, replaced by a frown and what appeared to be slight concern in her eyes.

"You fell down the stairs? How on earth did that happen?"

Lucy smiled guiltily. "I wasn't paying much attention and reached the top stair before I thought I would."

Natsu's eyes shot over to her, widening in surprise. Why would she lie?

Madame Porlyusica stepped closer to Lucy and pushed her back so she was laying on the cot.

"What were you thinking about that had you so distracted?"

Lucy's eyes lit up. "Well, we were learning this wonderful story about the constellation Leo and I was just thinking about some theories I wanted to bring up to Professor Crux next class."

Madame Porlyusica rolled her eyes and began prodding Lucy's arms and legs.

"Of course you were."

When the healer reached Lucy's ankle, she took note of the obvious swelling and discoloration. She hummed and poked it.

Lucy shot up and grabbed at the joint, gasping in pain again.

Madame Porlyusica stood straight up and nodded. "Well, I'll have you fixed up in no time. Give me just a moment to grab the medicine."

Lucy gave her a strained smile. When the woman had left the area, Natsu stepped forward and put his hand on Lucy's shoulder.

"You okay?"

Lucy nodded, the tension draining from her shoulders as the pain faded from her leg.

"Why didn't you tell her about Happy?" Natsu asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

Lucy looked up at him. "She already seems to have something against you. I didn't want to add fuel to the fire.

Natsu shook his head in disbelief and stared at her a bit longer. Lucy glanced up at him and blushed at the intense look he was giving her.

"W-What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Natsu opened his mouth and then closed it again, pursing his lips as he struggled to decide what to say. He sighed and decided to be straightforward.

"Why don't you have many friends?"

Lucy turned bright red and glared at the young Gryffindor. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? I have friends!"

Natsu put his hands in the air between them placatingly. "Wait, that came out wrong! Yes, you have friends. But other than Levy, you don't really talk to people unless they need help with something."

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. "And how would you know that?"

Natsu laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Umm..."

Lucy sat up. "Well?"

"I notice things, alright? Like how you always have a book with you and you love Astronomy more than any other subject. That's all."

Lucy seemed taken aback. Had he been studying her behavior like she had been studying his?

"So? Are you going to answer my question?" Natsu asked, watching her expectantly.

Lucy's blush came back. "I...I don't really...know."

Natsu furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

Lucy shrugged, looking back at her swollen ankle to avoiding making eye contact. "When I first got here, I tried to make more friends, but the only person who continued to talk to me outside of needing help was Levy. So I gave up. I don't see the point of having friends who only use me to pass classes, that's all."

Natsu was stunned. Lucy seemed like such a nice person. She was so passionate about everything she did. Why didn't people want to be friends with her?

"Well...would you maybe want to...be _my_ friend?"

Lucy's eyes snapped back to Natsu's. "What?"

Natsu grinned. "Be my friend! And Erza and Gray and Wendy! You can hang out with us!"

"But...why? I haven't even been very nice to you all."

Natsu waved a hand in the air, dismissing her protest. "Ah, who cares. When I first met Erza, she beat the crap out of me. Look at us now!

Lucy still seemed shocked. Natsu saw Madame Porlyusica making her way back over, carrying a bottle of medicine.

"Tell you what. Meet me outside of Gryffindor Tower tonight when you go patrolling. I'll show you that having me as a friend would be a lot of fun, okay?"

Natsu gave Lucy one last blinding grin and then made his way out of the infirmary. Lucy just sat in the cot, completely speechless.

"Alright, Miss Heartfilia. Let's get that leg fixed up."

Several hours later had Lucy questioning her life choices. She was making her way to Gryffindor tower. To meet with a student. After curfew. When she was supposed to be patrolling the castle.

"This is just brilliant, Lucy. How are you going to explain this to Professor Justine when you inevitably get caught and get house points taken from Ravenclaw in the first week of classes? Absolutely ridiculous," Lucy muttered to herself as she walked.

"Do you always talk to yourself like that?"

Lucy barely held back a scream at the unexpected voice. She whirled around to come face to face with a grinning Natsu.

"You scared me!"

Natsu laughed. "I can tell. Ready to go?"

Lucy scowled and crossed her arms. "Go where?"

Natsu only grinned again and grabbed her hand. Lucy allowed herself to be pulled down the hallway, still questioning Natsu as they went.

"I'm serious. Where are we going? This really doesn't seem like a good idea, Natsu. We're going to get in trouble. Especially since I'm supposed to discourage after curfew wandering, not participate in it."

Natsu rolled his eyes at her. "Honestly, Luce. Just relax. I've done this a million times and never got caught."

Lucy gaped at him. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Natsu paused briefly to look around. He made a happy noise in the back of his throat and approached one of the statues that lined the corridor. He glanced back at Lucy and smirked. "You ready?"

Lucy stared at the statue nervously. "Ready for what?"

"An adventure."

Natsu pushed one of the eyes on the statue and smiled at Lucy's gasp of surprise when the stone melted away to reveal a passage. Natsu stepped toward Lucy and grabbed her hand again, pulling her into the tunnel. They walked for several more minutes before coming to a gate. Lucy could clearly see trees and the night sky through the bars. She wrenched her hand away from Natsu's grip.

"Oh sweet heavens, are we outside?! Do you know how much trouble we're going to get in for this?! Don't roll your eyes at me, I'm not joking!"

Natsu grabbed her hand once again. "Just relax. Don't you trust me?"

The strange thing was, despite hardly knowing him at all, Lucy did trust him. So, she let him pull her through the gate and closer to the forest.

"We're not supposed to go in there. It's dangerous," Lucy protested weakly, already knowing Natsu would somehow convince her to go.

"I know. Don't worry, I've got my wand with me. And I told you earlier, I've done this before."

It only took ten minutes to reach a clearing that Natsu deemed good enough for his plan. He turned to Lucy, grabbed her other hand.

"Okay. We'll do this right here. I've never showed anyone this before."

"Why me, then? Why not your friends or your cousins?"

Natsu shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've never wanted to show anyone before. Not until I met you."

Before Lucy could respond, Natsu turned around and whistled loudly. Lucy gasped and grabbed his arm with both hands.

"Natsu! Why would you do that?!"

He patted her hands on his arms and smiled. "It's how I call him."

"Him? Who are you ca-"

Lucy choked off as she heard to sound of wings flapping. She turned to the direction she thought the noise was coming from and pressed herself closer to Natsu's side. Sillohetted against the night sky was a shadow. A very large shadow with massive wings, a long tail and neck, and a horned head.

"Lucy, I'd like you to meet my best friend. His name is Igneel. And he's a Hungarian Horntail."

The dragon landed before them in the clearing, the ground shaking from the force. Lucy let out a whimper and put Natsu between the beast and herself. Natsu only laughed.

"It's okay. He won't hurt you. I raised him."

Lucy choked again. "You what?!"

Natsu stepped toward the dragon, letting Lucy's hands slip off of his arm. He walked until he was standing right under the dragon's head and gave it's chest a pat. He turned to look back at Lucy.

"I raised him. I found his egg while I was exploring the forest one day in my first year. I looked everywhere and waited all day but I never found his mother so I decided to raise him myself. It was a lot of work, but it paid off. This is where I come every other night during the school year. He finds his own food and he has a cave further into the forest. And during the summer, he files up to the forest near my house so I can still see him all the time."

Lucy was dumbfounded. She just couldn't imagine the boisterous Gryffindor having the patience to raise a dog, let alone a dragon.

"So, this is why you pay so much attention in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Care for Magical Creatures. You wanted to be able to fight off the creatures in the forest and care for a dragon."

Natsu walked back to her. "You noticed that?"

Lucy flushed red. "Kind of."

Natsu smirked. "Have you been watching me?"

Lucy sputtered in indignation. "Only because you manage to argue with the professor in every class Ravenclaw has with Gryffindor."

Natsu laughed. "I guess that's true. Do you want to meet him?" He asked, gesturing back at the dragon behind him.

Lucy swallowed nervously. "Are you sure it's safe? I've been to the sanctuaries in Romania. Keepers get bit or burned everyday."

Natsu grabbed her hand for what felt like the thousandth time and gently pulled her toward his scaly friend. "I'm positive."

As they got closer, Igneel lowered his head to the ground. Natsu brought Lucy to the front of the dragon and allowed the beast to sniff her a few times. Igneel gave a smoky snort and closed his eyes. Apparently, this was some sort of sign. Natsu turned to Lucy with a grin.

"That means he likes you. He'll let you touch him if you want."

Lucy nodded shyly. Despite the obvious dangers, Lucy's curiousity was winning out over her self-preservation. She really wanted to pet the dragon and Natsu obviously believed it to be safe.

The two walked to Igneel's left side and stopped when they were only a foot away from his neck. Natsu stood behind Lucy and guided her hand up to lay it on the scales.

Lucy was completely awestruck. The scales were smoother than she expected them to be and not nearly as hot. Instead of the scalding heat she had braced for, it felt more like she was holding her hands in front of a campfire. She let out a surprised laugh.

"Natsu, this is amazing." Lucy turned to look at the Gryffindor, only then realizing just how close he was standing to her. He gave her a heart-stopping grin.

"I know. He's pretty awesome."

In the distance, Lucy heard the school clock tower chime. She blanched.

"Oh my god. It's already eleven?! Natsu, not even prefects are supposed to be out this late! We're going to get in so much trouble!"

Lucy pulled away from Igneel and began pacing in the clearing, muttering to herself. Natsu watched for a minute, amusement clear in his eyes.

"Only if we get caught. Come on, let's get you back to the tower."

Miraculously, they made in back into the school and up to Ravenclaw tower without being caught by Morrigan, the castle caretaker who loved nothing more than to punish rule breakers. The stopped when they reached the door that granted entry into the common room.

Lucy turned to Natsu. "Thank you. For tonight. Igneel is amazing."

Natsu gave her his grin. "Your welcome. Thank you for coming."

Before Lucy could react, Natsu leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek, dashing off down the hall towards his own common room.

Lucy stood there, frozen, for another minute, her jaw open in shock, before she heard the door to the tower asking her the riddle. She gave it the answer breathily, stumbling into the room and hearing the door close behind her.

The rest of the term saw Lucy with a completely new routine. She still woke up at the same time everyday, still went to classes, still spent her free time studying. The change came every other night. Instead of patrolling the halls as she was supposed to do, Lucy found herself waiting in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. And every other night, she accompanied Natsu to that same clearing to spend time with her new friend, Igneel the Hungarian Horntail.

During this time that she spent with him, Lucy found herself noticing more and more about Natsu. How excited he got when talking to Igneel, how his eyes lit up at the mention of new defense spells, how he hated Herbology more than anything. More than that, Lucy began to notice just how much she enjoyed spending every other evening with him. She liked Natsu. A lot. And though feelings like that usually frightened her, Lucy found that, with Natsu, it was natural.

So, when Natsu didn't go to class and didn't meet up with her one day, Lucy became uncharacteristically worried. She had brushed it off when he wasn't in Potions. He found the class boring and occasionally skipped. But when he wasn't in Care for Magical Creatures, Lucy knew that something had to be wrong. He would never miss that class. Never. She waited for him for almost and hour that night and he never emerged from the tower. The painting never swung open and he never crawled out.

The next day, Lucy was frantic. He wasn't at breakfast. Food was everything to Natsu. He wouldn't miss a meal.

"Lu, are you okay?"

Lucy absentmindedly nodded at her friend. "I'm fine," she said, glancing to the Gryffindor table again. Where was he?

"Where is who? And why do you keep looking at the Gryffindors?"

Lucy jumped and turned back to Levy. "Huh?"

Levy furrowed her brow in concern. "What's bugging you? You've been out of it since yesterday."

Lucy bit her lip and looked down at her untouched plate, contemplating whether she should tell Levy what she was worried about. She felt and touch on her hand and looked back up to see that Levy had reached over the table, her concern more pronounced than before. Lucy sighed.

"I'm fine. I just...I don't know where Natsu is, that's all. I'm worried about him."

Levy features took on a more confused light. "Natsu? But I thought you didn't like Natsu."

Lucy bit her lip again, this time in something akin to shame. "Well...at first, yeah. But now..."

Levy tilted her head. "What happened?"

"Um...he showed me something, and we've been hanging out and now I might have a small crush on him and it's no big deal except now I can't stop worrying about him and I don't know if he's okay."

Levy's eyes were wide with shock at Lucy's rant. "Whoa. Okay. Um, have you asked Ezra or Gray where he is? They probably know."

Lucy gasped and shot up from her seat. "Levy, you're a genius. Of course!"

Lucy made her way over to the rowdiest group of Gryffindors and tapped Erza on the shoulder. The redhead turned around and was surprised to see Lucy standing there, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Hello, Lucy. Did you need something?"

Lucy toed the ground nervously. "I was just wondering where Natsu was. I didn't see him in class at all yesterday and he hasn't been at any meals since then either."

Erza raised a brow. "I didn't think you would notice that. You didn't seem to like Natsu very much when you first met."

Lucy huffed. "Things changed. Is he okay?"

Erza crossed her arms and turned to fully face Lucy. "I suppose that depends on your definition of okay. He was practicing an advanced spell in the common room, something to do with dragons, and it backfired. Gray took him to Madame Porlyusica. I assume he's still there. I'm sure he'll be fi - Lucy...are you crying?"

Lucy pressed a hand to her cheek and was shocked to see that she was, in fact, crying. She dodged Erza's attempted hug and took a few steps back.

"I'm fine. Thank you." With that, she turned and dashed from the Great Hall, making her way to the infirmary. She ran into the room, giving Madame Porlyusica a bit of a scare, and scanned each of the beds for pink hair. She found him in the farthest bed on her right.

"Heavens, Miss Heartfilia! What are you doing? Are you hurt?"

Lucy waved Madame Porlyusica away and walked to Natsu's bed.

"Is he alright?" She whispered.

Madame Porlyusica scoffed and crossed her arms. "He'll be fine. I must admit, I've never seen a spell backfire quite like that. He was conscious for a few minutes this morning but he hasn't woken up since. He should be coming around here soon."

Lucy slumped into a chair at his bedside, relief flooding her body. "Thank goodness. May I stay here?"

Madame Porlyusica stared at her for a while and then nodded curtly. "I'll let your teachers know you will be with me for the day."

Lucy gave her a tired smile and then turned back to Natsu. Hesitantly, she grabbed his hand, gripping it tight.

It took three hours for him to wake up. Lucy had fallen asleep, her head on his blankets. She woke to his groan and his hand pulling from hers. She shot into a sitting position and watched, wide eyed, as Natsu sat up clutching his head.

Natsu blinked, taking in his surroundings and stopping when he spotted Lucy. "Hey Luce. What's going on?"

Lucy released a relieved laugh and flung herself at the boy. Natsu caught her around the waist on reflex, confused when her arms closed around his neck and she started shaking. He felt her tears hitting his neck a moment later.

"Lucy, why are you crying? Are you okay? Did you get hurt or something?"

Lucy let out a watery giggle and pulled back to look Natsu in the eyes. "I'm just so happy you're okay. You weren't in class at all and you missed meals and I didn't know what had happened. I thought that something might have gone wrong in the forest with Igneel and you were hurt. I was so worried."

She leaned into his neck again, happy when his arms tightened around her.

"I'm sorry, Luce. I didn't mean to worry you. I was trying to figure out a spell to make a saddle so we could ride on Igneel. It didn't go well."

Lucy pulled away again and gave him a look of exasperation. "Seriously? A saddle spell backfired on you?"

Natsu chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yes?"

Lucy shocked her head and sighed. "Idiot. You're lucky I love you."

It took Lucy a moment to process what she had said. When she had, she froze, her muscles going completely taught.

Natsu was shocked. "Huh?"

Lucy sprang away from him. "Nothing! It's nothing! I'm glad you're okay! See you in class!"

"Lucy, wait!"

She didn't listen as she fled from the infirmary.

Lucy spent the rest of the day questioning her life choices.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why would you say that? He's never going to talk to you again. You ruined your whole friendship with him because you couldn't keep your big mouth shut," she ranted to herself as the walked the halls that night.

She wasn't paying any attention to where she was going.

"Talking to yourself again?"

This time, Lucy couldn't stop herself in time. She let out a startled shout and turned to face the subject of her ranting. "Natsu!"

He gave her a grin. "Hey Luce! Ready to go see Igneel?"

Lucy was too stunned to talk. Was he just going to ignore what she had said. Did he even remember? Had he not heard it?

Natsu interpreted her silence as a yes. "Great! Let's go!"

Lucy didn't register that he was leading her by the hand again until they were already in the clearing and Igneel was landing in front of them.

"Natsu!"

He turned to look at her. "What?"

Lucy threw her hands in the air. "What?! That's all you have to say?"

Natsu tilted his head. "What do you want me to say?"

"Something! Anything! At least tell me how you feel!"

Natsu grinned again. "I want to show you something first."

He pulled out his wand and recited a spell Lucy had never heard. Before she knew what was happening, Igneel was sporting a saddle and Natsu was settling in behind her.

"Natsu, wait. What are y-?"

"Just relax. Igneel, let's go!"

Lucy screamed as the dragon suddenly took off, leaping into the air with a strength Lucy couldn't comprehend. In seconds, they were soaring over the lake and through the clouds, up into the sky.

Lucy's scream transformed into an exhilarated laugh as they leveled out. The stars were shining so clearly. She could hardly feel the cold night air with the warmth of the dragon below her. Lucy released her death grip on the leather of the saddle and spread her arms out, feeling the wind blow over them. She could feel Natsu's hands on her waist.

Igneel banked to the left, unbalancing Lucy enough that she grabbed Natsu's hands for support. Natsu rested his chin on her shoulder and spoke into her ear.

"What do you think?"

Lucy's smile as she turned to look at him spoke for her. Her eyes reflected the stars.

"This is amazing!"

Natsu smiled gently. "Just like you."

Lucy's eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"You wanted me to tell you how I feel, right?"

Lucy gave him the barest of nods, her eyes shining with surprise and nervousness.

Natsu's face broke into a face-splitting grin. "I love you too, Lucy."

And there, under the stars on the back of a dragon, Natsu kissed her. And Lucy decided that maybe Gryffindors weren't so bad after all.

* * *

**AN: Hello everyone! It's been so long since I've posted anything. Senior year was a lot busier than I was expecting and now I'm getting ready for college. Anyway, I wrote this up because I'm a total Potterhead and I thought that everyone could use more Fairy Tail at Hogwarts. It's not my best work, but I think it's cute enough.**

**I also wanted to tell everyone that I am in the process of planning and writing a sequel to my story Cops and Writers. It's slow going because life gets in the way sometimes, but it is happening!**

**I hope you enjoyed this little story! I have a few more that I will be posting as I work on the big one. Thank you!**


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